Bilingual Education
In 2012, Psychology Today reported that in 2007 the American Community Survey reported approximately 18 percent (ages 5 and up) of the United States population was bilingual. In 2013, the National Center for Education Statistics reported an increase from 1976 to 2012 in minority enrollment in college (Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, American Indian/Alaska native). Bilingual education has been a highly controversial topic in America. Based on the report from the National Center for Education Statistics, you would think that this type of education would be widely supported. Has our nation actually thought about the impact of bilingual education? After all, it could be the reason for the peak in college enrollment of minorities. Bilingual education should continue to be an option in the United States because of the many benefits such as: aiding non-English speakers stay on track, giving natives the opportunity to learn other languages, and helping preserve the cultures of non-natives.
Bilingual education is the key to increased high school graduation and college success rates. By offering non-natives the opportunity to learn another language while learning in their native language eliminates the pass or fail, sink or swim aspect of English. When students unfamiliar with the language are put into classes without assistance, both the teacher and student are being cheated. The teacher’s performance will be judged for not being able to teach a non-English speaker the curriculum and the student will also be penalized for not understanding. Bilingual education bridges the education and knowledge gap between natives and non-natives. How can bilingual education not be an option in certain states when “…hundreds of scientific studies over the past half century have shown that bilingual education…is an effective approach for teaching second language learners” (“What is Bilingual Education?”). It is not only beneficial to non-natives; it also gives natives the chance to learn additional languages. The reputation of bilingual education is tarnished to often even though it has been “…well established by research over the past three decades – not only for English language learners but also for native-English speakers acquiring another language”(“What is Bilingual Education?”). Our society is adapting and being bilingual is becoming a criterion to hold certain positions and implementing bilingual education into every school in America can aid in making sure this requirement is met earlier than it is required now.
The United States is populated by many immigrants and immigrant families. Due to assimilation, “in two or three generations immigrants and indigenous minorities learned English and often [lose] their native languages” (“What is Bilingual Education?”). In a country that is characterized as being ethnically and racially diverse, losing one’s cultural identity is not ok. The United States should aid in preserving the cultures of non-natives. Other cultures should be embraced instead of erased to show that the United States is truly accepting of all cultures. The first step is to continue bilingual education. The U.S needs to stress the preservation of other languages because “today, more than ever, we need multilingual skills to enhance national security and prosper in a global economy” (“What is Bilingual Education?”). The most important aspects of government are at stake and will suffer ultimately if attitudes toward bilingual education don’t change. Assimilation is expected and is ok to a certain extent, but not to the point where a whole cultural identity is lost. In the land of the free, citizen’s expressions of culture through language amongst other things should be encouraged. Through bilingual education cultural identities can be saved. Not only will non-natives preserve their culture, but natives will become more aware of other cultures.
Those who oppose bilingual education do so for various reasons such as cost and doubt concerning its effectiveness. ProEnglish believes that bilingual education, although “well-intentioned…has been proven to be a failure” (“Bilingual Education”). The naysayers believe that public schools fail to produce non-natives who can fluently speak English. They also believe that they fail to provide non-natives with the tools they need for success. However, “a major longitudinal study released in 1991 by the U.S Department of Education found that the more schools developed children’s native language skills, the higher they scored academically over the long term in English” (“What is Bilingual Education?”). It is also important to point out that bilingual programs are not all the same. In many cases, neither the program nor the school is to blame for the failures. There are times where the blame is to be placed on the instructors. In some cases, teachers lack the passion, drive, and interest in their job and students and that leads to underperformance. This is not only seen in bilingual education though, it is seen in special Ed and even private schools. “Bad teaching is bad teaching in any language” and those who don’t agree with bilingual education should take note of that (“What is Bilingual Education?”).
In order for bilingual education to be widely accepted a few things should be changed. First and foremost, bilingual education should be inexpensive and should have federal standards that make it the same in each state. There should also be frequent assessment periods where the performance of the program is accessed so modifications can be made before student’s grades suffer. Another addition that could widely improve the programs is proper screening and selection of teachers to lead the programs. Natives and non-natives should also be placed in the same classrooms frequently to encourage peer learning and enhance conversation skills. If the bilingual education system is reformed the United States can reap mass benefits in the future.

Works Cited * "Bilingual Education." Bilingual Education. Web. 26 July 2015. <https://www.proenglish.org/projects/bilingual-education.html>. * "Bilinguals in the United States." Psychology Today. Web. 28 July 2015. <https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/life-bilingual/201205/bilinguals-in-the-united-states>. * "Fast Facts." Web. 26 July 2015. <http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98>. * "What Is Bilingual Education?" NABE. Web. 28 July 2015. <http://www.nabe.org/BilingualEducation>.